The Light Side’s M.O.

The Dark Side’s M.O.

Questionable companies pay people to write phony – often glowing – missives on Amazon, Yelp, and other consumer platforms without ever trying the product or reading the book. These folks typically use underhanded tactics (like shipping empty boxes) to give posts an air of credibility.

The deceptive practice has gone viral quicker than a conga line of cats, but it’s slowly poisoning the digital economy.

Amazon Sues Reviewers: Fake Feedback Brokers

Amazon’s first fake review lawsuit targeted the operator of buyazonreviews.com, in addition to the John Doe(s) facilitating buyamazonreviews.com, bayreviews.net, and buyreviewsnow.com. Lawyers for the plaintiff argue trademark violations (some of the sites use unauthorized Amazon logos), unfair competition, and a smattering of other business-related torts.

From the “Amazon sues reviewers” lawsuit:

“While small in number, these reviews threaten to undermine the trust that customers, and the vast majority of sellers and manufacturers, place in Amazon, thereby tarnishing Amazon’s brand. Amazon strictly prohibits any attempt to manipulate customer reviews and actively polices its website to remove false, misleading, and inauthentic reviews.“Despite substantial efforts to stamp out the practice, an unhealthy ecosystem is developing outside of Amazon to supply inauthentic reviews. Defendants’ businesses consist entirely of selling such reviews.”

Amazon purports to have damning evidence against the defendant (whether it’s true or not is yet to be determined).